There's A Dark Side To India's New Prime Minister That Should Worry Everyone

Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi speaks during the "Vibrant Gujarat Summit" at Gandhinagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat January 12, 2013. Fresh off his re-election as chief minister of Gujarat and amid expectations he could contend to be the next prime minister, Modi avoided talk of a bigger political future during a state investment event.

Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have won India's general election by the biggest margin in 30 years.

Modi will be sworn in as the new prime minister of India on May 21.

Indian stocks surged to a record in India, with the BSE having risen as much as 6.15%, and the rupee also strengthened against the U.S. dollar. Modi has largely positioned himself as a champion of economic progress as India's economic growth has languished to 10-year lows. And one can't argue with the fact that Modi is a much more charismatic leader than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

While there's much optimism around what a Modi win could mean for the Indian economy, there's a lot to worry about as well.

Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a Hindu nationalist party and has done a good job avoiding questions about his role in the deadly Gujarat Hindu-Muslim riots of 2002 that left over 1,000 dead. Modi was chief minister of the state at the time.  The riots began after a train with Hindu pilgrims was set on fire in Godhra, killing 59 people. Hindu mobs then turned on Muslims in Gujarat.

In the aftermath, Modi has addressed the issue saying: "I feel sad about what happened but no guilt. And no court has come even close to establishing it."

Modi only fanned the flames with his New York Times interview in 2002, in which he said his only regret was that he didn't manage the media better. Following this, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Modi and Britain announced a 10-year boycott.

The Supreme Court of India however has given him a "clean chit" — exonerating him of wrongdoing.

Modi has also called for a crackdown on illegal immigrants in India. He has accused West Bengal of being soft on illegal immigration and accused it of sheltering them in order to secure votes from minorities. Sujoy Dihar at LiveMint points out that Modi has said illegal immigrants should have their "bags packed" in case he comes to power. Modi's rhetoric, and it has been argued that of the BJP, has shown an anti-Muslim bias.  

In a note published earlier this year, Nomura's Alastair Newton points out that during a Feb. 23 rally in Assam, Modi called for Hindu migrants from Bangladesh to be assimilated back into India. He said non-Hindus should be sent back to their home nations. Modi's rhetoric has raised concerns about what this could mean for neighborhood politics.

Indian publication Live Mint pointed to Modi's decision to contest the seat in the holy city of Varanasi as a sign that he hasn't abandoned his Hindu supremacist ideology: 

"It is widely expected that Modi’s nomination from Varanasi will positively affect the outcome for the BJP in a number of other seats in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which are electorally important as together the two states send 120 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha. Further, the choice of Varanasi is also symbolic in nature which indicates that the party may not have completely abandoned the Hindutva ideology."

Sachin Tendulkar’s world records

Sachin Tendulkar

We will take a look at all the world records currently held by Indian maestroSachin Tendulkar.

He may or may not be the greatest batsman to grace the game of cricket, but he certainly is the best batsman we have seen over the last twenty years of International cricket. Having played the game for 24 long years, he has made some records his own across both the ODI and Test formats.

Sachin Tendulkar’s records in Test cricket

• Most number of runs in the format, the only player to have crossed the 15,000 mark, Sachin ended up with exactly 15921 runs.
• Most number of Test hundreds (51). Jacques Kallis was the only player who was looked at upon as a possible contender to break this record, but with his retirement, one can safely say that this record will stand for many years to come.
• Many players consider themselves to be blessed when they represent their nation for 100 Tests, but Sachin with his last Test did the unthinkable by completing 200 Test matches.
• He holds the record for the most number of century partnerships and most number of runs by a pair, both with his good old friend Rahul Dravid.
• Sachin has hit the most number of fours in the format which stands at a staggering 2058.
• He also holds the record for making the most number of runs at a particular batting position (number 4).
• Most number of 50+ scores in the format: 119.
• He jointly holds the record for the most number of scores in the nineties (10) alongside Rahul Dravid and Steve Waugh.
• Sachin was also the fastest to reach 12000, 13000, 14000 and 15000 Test runs.

Sachin Tendulkar’s records in ODI cricket

• With 18426 runs to his name, he is the top run getter. The next best is 13704, which shows you the kind of dominance he had in this format.
• He has 49 ODI hundreds, the last one being his 100th in International Cricket. The most amazing feature about this record was he scored his first in only his 79th one day game.
• The most number of half centuries: 96.
• Just like in Test cricket, he has also played the most number of matches in the 50 over version of the game (463).
• He holds the record for the highest partnership when he combined with Dravid to put on 331 runs for the second wicket against New Zealand.
• He made the most number of runs in a calendar year in 1998, a record that is yet to be broken.
• The most number of hundreds scored against a particular team. He always cherished scoring against the Aussies and ended up scoring nine hundreds against them.
• Many wonder how many hundreds he would have ended up with had he converted his 90s. He was dismissed 18 times in the nineties which in itself is a world record.
• Sachin dominated almost every single World Cup he played, and has currently made the most runs (2278) in the tournament’s history.
• No other player has won the man of the match (62) and the man of the series (15) awards as many times as Sachin did in his career.

They say records are meant to be broken, but when you take a look at some of the above mentioned records, one does get a feeling that those will remain forever. Some people predict Alistair Cook (in Tests) and Virat Kohli (in ODIs) to get near those records by the time they finish their respective careers. But how consistent can they be in the future is the question, or else these records might very well stand tall like Don Bradman’s magical Test average.

Live election results: Powered by Narendra Modi wave, BJP scripts history with sweep across country; Congress-led UPA decimated

The BJP-led NDA appears to be heading for a victory in the Lok Sabha elections with the trends in the counting of votes giving the saffron party leads in 282 seats on its own while its allies led in 39 seats.

The ruling Congress was struggling with leads only in 47 seats as per the trends. Among its allies, NCP was ahead in five, Kerala Congress and RSP one each.

BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has won from Vadodara and Varanasi. Reacting to this historic result, Modi said that India has won.

In Amethi, Rahul Gandhi was leading with 1666 votes and Congress President Sonia Gandhi was leading by over 56000 votes in Rae Bareli.

BJP has registered a remarkable comeback in Uttar Pradesh and it is leading in 54 seats. BSP was trailing massively and has registered leads in only three seats.

LK Advani won his seat in Gujarat and the BJP is looking to win all the 26 seats.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is trailing from Thiruvananthapuram and BJP’s VK Singh is leading from Ghaziabad.

Race to achieve 100GW solar target

When the UPA II government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in early 2010, the target of 22GW by 2021-22 was considered unrealistic by most solar experts. Solar energy was considered too expensive for large-scale deployment. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic decline in solar power costs, from Rs. 20 per unit to nearly Rs. 5.5 per unit. This has made the government perceive solar energy as an economically rationale choice. It has raised the solar targets to 100GW out of the proposed 175GW of renewable energy. If these targets are met, India will join the ranks of the world’s solar powerhouses in terms of installed capacity.

he solar targets have been divided into grid-connected solar parks and large plants, Rooftop PV (RTPV) systems, 5-10MW ground-mounted projects and off-grid installations. Is this a good move? The increased solar targets have positive economic implications for India. They envisage an investment of around $100 billion in the sector over the next seven years. This opens up the space for foreign investment (especially from China, Japan, Germany and the US) and encourages indigenous manufacturing of solar components.

With 100GW of capacity installed, around nine per cent of India’s electricity requirement will be met by solar alone (currently 0.5 per cent). India would then surpass Germany, where solar energy currently accounts for six per cent of the total power. This highlights India’s seriousness in reducing its carbon emissions by increasing the share of renewables in its energy mix. Showcasing this kind of commitment to climate mitigation will give India a strong position at the upcoming 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in Paris.

The broader benefit of solar energy is its contribution to increasing energy security by reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports. Additionally, off-grid plants under the new solar scheme can help India achieve its goal of universal electrification. This will be a big advantage as currently 300million Indians still lack access to basic electricity services. However, increasing India’s solar capacity from 3.3GW to 100GW in seven years will be a challenge. Such tremendous growth can only be accomplished with a strong policy framework.

Currently, large solar PV plants make up more than 90 per cent of the installed capacity in India. This is because established developers get easy access to finance, security of payment and simple operation and maintenance (O&M). Despite these incentives, certain technical and economic barriers still need to be addressed. Owing to the intermittent nature of solar energy, large-scale deployment will require the development of grid management and load balancing mechanisms in co-ordination with State Load Dispatch Centres and R&D institutions. Green bonds and public financing need to be promoted to reduce the cost of debt and increase loan tenures. India’s good global credit rating will allow the government to leverage low-cost finance (with lower hedging rates) from developed countries to commission large solar projects. To ensure that state utilities have an incentive to deploy solar energy, Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) need to be stringently enforced.

RTPV is a decentralised technology, which is being encouraged due to its low land footprint and ability to reduce transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. Weak local distribution infrastructure, lack of economies of scale and poor social outlook have prevented RTPV systems from penetrating the Indian market. These challenges need to be suitably tackled.

To counter variability and fluctuations, utilities need to strengthen their distribution transformers. Relevant stakeholder interactions should be held in every state to assess the financial health of utilities, project annual capacity addition targets and establish guidelines for utilities to upgrade their existing infrastructure. This will lead to the formulation of appropriate net-metering and Feed in Tariff (FiT) rates.

Major restructuring is required in the off-grid sector. These projects should be linked with value added services such as rural industries, cold storage units and pumping irrigation water. Streamlining the subsidy disbursal mechanism via one ministry and providing incentives such as tax holidays and minimum return guarantees can encourage private investment.

To ensure long-term sustainability, rural entrepreneurs and public-private partnerships can be encouraged. Local communities should be trained in system O&M. If these challenges are addressed in a structured and phased manner, then India’s ambitious solar target of 100 GW for 2021-22 is achievable and certainly desirable.